Method of making one-piece boxes



May a, 1924. 1,492,902

H. B. SMITH METHOD OF MAKING ONE-PIECE BOXES Filed March 30 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 11v VENTOR Harry Bridgman 5mirh B) May 6, 1924. 1,492,902 r H. B. SMITH I METHOD OF MAKING ONE-PIECE BOXES Filed March 30 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 .INVENTOR Haws Bridgman 5M5! A TTORNE VS H. B- SMITH METHOD OF MAKING ONE-PIECE BOXES May .6,- 1924.

Filed March 50 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 m ,.mamiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllll INVENTOR Harr Bridgman 5m A TTORNE YS Patented May 6, 1924. I

um'reo STATES PATENT HARRY BBIDGMAN SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T BRIDG-IVIAN SMITH PATENTS COMPANY, INC., OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPOBATION YORK.

IVIETI-IOD OF MAKING ONE-PIEGE BOXES.

Application fil ed March 30, 1923. Serial No. 628,785.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY BRIDGMAN SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvments in Methods of Making One-Piece Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to methods of making one-piece boxes and especially covered boxes of unitary construction, that is, boxes in which the bottom or body section and the top or cover section are connected or integral. Boxes of this class are sometimes called telescope boxes. The general object of the invention is to provide methods which materially expedite and cheapen the production of such boxes.

Generally described, the method comprises making incisions in side wall portions of an associated or assembled box shell and cover blank, folding in and securing portions of the material defined by the incisions, and folding the materials along transverse hinge lines, whereupon the bottom section telescopes within the top section, producing a complete telescope or one-piece box.

The method is devised so that it can be advantageously performed with box covering machines of a well known type, with slight modifications in such machines for the Figure 1 is aperspective view of one suit-' able form of shell blank.

-Figure 2 shows the blank set up and stayed and in superposed relation to'a suit able cover blank.

Figure 3 shows the shell and cover blank brought together and the cover side wings folded up.

Figure 4 shows slits cut in the cover side it for the present purpose.

wings producing flaps to be subsequently inturned.

Figure 5 is'a detail in section sufficiently illustrating suitable mechanism for manipulating the box parts and making the slits.

Flgure 6 is a top plan detail of the slitting device.

Figure 7 shows the assembled blanks with the flaps turned in and secured and with side cover margins also turned in horizontally. 3

Figure 8 shows in section-suitable mechanism for turning in the flaps, associated with other mechanism as commonly employed in box covering machines previously referred to.

tion.

Figure 10 shows the assembled blanks completed and the box partly folded;

Figure 11 shows the complete telescope or one-piece box produced bythe method steps previously illustrated.

Figure 12 shows another suitable form of shell blank set up and stayed and positioned upon a cover blank. i

Figure 13 illustrates the operation of slitting the combined side wing materials to produce fia-ps which in this instance include parts of the shell and cover blanks.

Figure 14 shows the assembled blanks after the slitting operation.

Figure 15 shows the flaps turned in and secured.

Figure 16 is a detail showing the operation of pressing the cover flap margins.

Figures 17 to 20 inclusive illustrate successive steps of producing a telescope box, from an embryo structure shown in Figure 17 which is substantially similar to a completed covered box part such as a shallow walled box cover.

Iwill first describe a performance of the process which is well adapted for the production of boxes of this class by' the use of a well known type of box covering machine, slightly modified in certain respects to adapt It will be understood that the method can equally well be carried out by hand, but of course with less speed and at greater labor cost. A suitable shell blank as shownin'Figure 1 com- Figure 9 shows a flap pressing operaprises a body portion a corresponding to the.

bottom of the box body or lower box section in the completed telescope box, another body portion 6 corresponding to the top of the upper or cover section in the completed box, an intermediate portion 0 corresponding to one wall of the completed box, side Wing portions 6 and e and end wing portions 7. The blank has portions removed corresponding to the spaces 9, these removed portions or spaces being opposite and co-extensive with the adjacent side wing portions (3, c and wall portion Transverse fold or hinge lines it are provided in the shell blank, these lines being substantially in line with the inward ends of the wing portions 6 and c, and defining the hinge connections between the top and bottom sections of the completed box. The lines it may be creased or scored any suitable Way but more desirably these lines are in the form of head creases. The production of these creases may in some cases be considered a part of the present method although otherwise the creases may be formed in the production of the complete shell blanks as shown in Figure 1. The shell blank is desirably also scored along the lines is and m to facilitate folding of the side and end wings.

The shell blank, is so designed that the dimension a of blank portion a is slightly less than the dimension 5 or" blank portion Z) to provide for the proper telescoping of one part or the completed box within the other.

The shell blank is folded or set up as shown in Figure 2 and stayed by the application of corner stays 1, and the stayed shell is then placed upon the glued upper surface of a suitable cover blank C, Fig. 2. The cover blank has a central or body portion n co-extensivc with the shell blank portions a. Z), and 0, side wings 0, corner laps 7) and end wings q. The side and end wings are dimensioned so that when they are folded up against the shell side and end wing 1)=.)1- tions, marginal portions 2 and 3 of the cover side and end wings 0 and g respectively, will project above the shell wing portions.

In the commercial production of covered boxes by the use of covering machines 01 the class previously referred to. a glued cover blank C is placed on movable support 10 of the covering machine, Fig. 5, with the cover wings and projecting beyond the sup port. The set-up shell blank is then placed in properly centered position on the cover blank the setup shell is placed on a. twopart forming plunger sufliciently illustrated in Fig. 5, this mechanism comprising shallow lower plunger 11 mounted onfastem'12, and a thicker upper forin or plunger 13 carried by a sleeve 14 surrounding the stem 12.

The two lunger's 11 and 13 are then moved down al'on'gwith the; support 10 and in this downward movementthe cover side the upper forming plunger 1; at the sides oi an aperture. 1) provided in the erm or plijinger in adapting it for the presii The shallow lower plunger 11 has po cut out providing spaces 20, as wilspaces 19, the width of these plunger spaces being slightly greater than the width 0' the cover flaps now to be produced or substan tially co-extensive with the longitudinal diinension of the shell spaces g, Fig. 1. The cutting abutments 18 project inward slightly from the sides of spaces 19. The lower plunger spaces 20 are extended inward far enough to accommodate side flaps formed in the slitting operation. At the inward ends or" tie spaces :20 are located. pressing members 21 formed on or carried by the upper plunger 13.

As the box shell and cover assembly is moved down past the cutters 16, slits are cut'in the cover side wings close to the adjacent ends of the shell end wings e and e. De'sirably these slits are located just beyond the ends or the shell Wings as best shown in Fig. (i. so that narrow portions oi the cover wing material are turned in more or less in the slitting operation to partially cover and conceal the edges oi? the shell material. The parallel slits 22 define laps 2i. the inner surfaces of which are covered with glue ap-. plied when the cover blank was coated all over previous to placing it on the support 10.

The support and plungers 11 and 13 now, move farther down to position the box part in relation to devices for turning in the cover side wing margins 2 as shown in Figures 7 and S. The wing margins are turned in by blades 26 secured to a reciprocating carrier 27. Before the advance oi the blade carrier the up 'ier plunger 1 is withdrawn to about the position shown in Figure 8, leaving the plunger 11 in position at the bottom of the box assembly. The carrier 27 is provided with a tlap pressing member 28 having a rounded end 29 and a pressing foot 30. As the carrier lvani-es the rounded end of the presscr cng gcs the adjacent flap slightly above the bottom of the box part, and pushes inward while plunger 13 is rising. Finally the presser foot 30 presses the flap smoothly down. on, an inner surface of the shell portiOn' 0,

Box covering. machines of thetype referred to have additional devices whichnow operate in proper relation to the parts already described to'turn in the corner laps 1), turn up and press the end wings turn in the end wing margins 3, and then after carrier 27 has been retracted and the parts carried by it are clear of the box part, plunger 13 is moved down again, whereupon the inturned cover margins 2 and 3 are folded down and secured to inner surfaces of the shell. At the same time the pressing membersQl engage and press the inner ends or'margins of flaps 2 4. firmly on the inner surfaces of shell portion a, as shown in Fig. 9, and thereafter the two plungers are, raised away from the support 10 and the box part. is ejected; Fig.

10 shows the boxcompleted except for closing, and Fig. 111 shows the completed closed and telescoped box. I

The box materials prior to cutting the slits 22: to form flaps 24 may. conveniently be described as a box assembly or an embryo box part, and the most significant features of the processes so far described consist in cutting the cover side'wing material to form the flaps 24: and turning in and se curing the flaps, in due relation to other steps of completing thebox .formation which in the present instance include the completion of the cover blank application as sufficiently described above. It will be evident without further explanation .how

the process can be carried out entirely byhand operations if desired.

Figures 12 to 16 show a variation in the process in which the shell blank has unbroken side wings 6 and otherwise may be substantially the same as 'in the previous instance. The shell blank is set up and stayed as before and placed on a suitable cover blank which may be the same as in' the previous instance, and when the process is to be carried out'by a suitable machine such as the type of machine previously mentioned, the machine may be adapted for the purpose in substantially the same'way.

When the assembly consisting of the shell and cover blank is positionedon the plungers and on support 10 and moved down past the cutters 16, the latter cut slits 22 "throughboth the cover side wing and the underlying shell side wing" e producing flaps 24*, Fig. 1e, each flap consisting of combined shell and cover material with;

v cover margins 2 projecting b y d th ends of the shell members. 1 1

The flap turningoperation is performed in con unct1on with'the turn ngin' 'o'flhe down against shell section 0 as sufficiently explained in Fig. 15, and then upon turned in flaps have 'no pro eoting cover inga complete telescope box substantially like that shown in Fig. 11 except that in this instance the edges 30 0f the shell side wings produced in cutting the slits 22 arenot covered. or concealed by margins of the adjacent cover material as may be provided for in the previous example. 1 I

The most significant features of. the method in the example just explained, whether performed by suitable. mechanism or-by hand operations, consist in .cutting or slitting the combined shell andsidewing materials of a .box'forining assembly or'embryo box'part, turning in and securingthei flaps, and more particularly securing them by adhesive engagement of the flap cover margins with the inner-surfaceof the shellsection 0, and then completing the: formation of the onepiece or telescope covered boxas above sufliciently described.

" Figures. 17 to 20 show a variatio'n'of'the process in which the box assembly or' em-' bryo box parts as shown in Figure 17, may

consist of a set-up she'll 'blank S suitably?- covered with a completely applied cover blank 13 having the margins turned in and secured after the fashion of a complete covered box part, dimensioned ofcourse' with regard to the necessary dimensions of the 1100 completed telescope or one-piece box to be produced. Transverse creases or fold lines h are producedon the inner shell surface defining the shell "sections a, b and caspreto the position of the fold lines 72 adhesive :31

is applied to inner surfaces of the flaps 24t so produced, orin some cases the adhesive couldbe applied to the shell surface 0; the fiaps'are folded down and secured as shown in Figure 19,and the box part is then folded along the hinge lines as si'ifiiciently suggested in Fig. 20, Jproducinga complete-onepiece or telescope box substantially similar to the" previous example except that the margins.

The methodas'last described maybe understood-to be performed entirely by hand operations, but if desired" suitable -mechanism may be employed; for example, the-em bryo box partas 'shown in Figure 17 may, be placed on'a plunger-and passed between slitting cutters arranged-like the cutters16 n Figures 5 and 6, and if a two-part plunger is employed as also shown in those figures,

viously, 'orin some cases the hinge creasesill) the flaps may be turned in while the upper plunger is retracted, as willbe sufiiciently understood from the previous explanations.

The most significant features of the process in this lass example consist in cutting the combined shell and cover side wings of an embryo box part to produce flaps, the previous formation of fold lines or creases in the box part if such fold lines are .not already present in the shell material, and the turning in and adhesive iiastening of the flaps to inner surfaces of the shell.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a box .iotthe class described, comprisingithe steps ofislitting side wall material of an embryo covered box part to produce flap. formations, turning in and securing the flaps.

2. A method of prod-ucinga one-piece telescope box, comprising .the steps of slitting the side wall cover material 50f :an embryo covered box part :toproduce flap formation's, turning in and adhesiyely securing the flaps. o a

3. A method of makingv one-piece telescope covered boxes, comprising the steps :of producing hingelines in the shell material of an embryo box part, making parallel slits in the side wall material of .the embryo covered box to produce rectangular flaps approximately at the :midlengthof the :side walls, turning in and adhesively securing the flaps to surfaces of the shell material between the hinge :lines;

4. A method lof making one-piece telescope boxes, comprising the steps of producing parallel, transverse hinge lines in the box shell, making parallel slits :in the vside wall material of: the embryo covered box part to produce flaps approximately at the Inidlength of the side walls and of a width approximately equal zt'o the space between the hinge lines,tunning in and adhesively securing the flaps to surfaces of the shell material between the hinge lines.

5. A method of producing one-piece or telescope boxes, comprising making parallel slit-s through the side wafll'cover material of an embryo covered box part atsubstantially the midleng th of said walls :to'produee flaps of a width substantially equal to lthespace between parallel transverse fold lines in (the embryo box body, turningin and; adhesively securing theflaps to. inner surgfacesxof the box body between the toldfilinias, and bend ing the box at the fold lines.

v 6. A method of producing pneapiece or telescope boxes; comprising making parallel slits through lthelsid e wallshell and cover material or an embryo covered-box part at substantiallythe midlength of. said walls to produce iflapsof a width substantially equal to the space between parallel transverse told lines in the embryo box body, turning in and adhesively securing the flaps to inner surfaces of the box body between the fold lines, and bending the embryo box part at the fold lines.

7. A method of producing one-piece or telescope boxes, comprising associating a setup box shell and a glued cover blank, fold ing Wing portions of the cover blank against side Wall portions of the shell, cutting side wing portions of the cover blank on parallel lines at substantiallythe midlengthof the assembly side .walls to produce foldable flaps, and turning the flaps in and adhesively securing them to inner surfaces of the shell body; 1

I 8. A method of producing one-piece or telescope boxes, comprising associating a .setup box shell and a glued cover blank, folding wing portions of the cover blank against side wall portions of the shell, cutting side Wing portions of the cover blank on parallel lines at substantially the midlength ofthe assembly side walls to produce foldable -flaps, turni-ng the flaps in and. adhesiyelysecuring them to inner surfaces of the shell body, and completing the application of the cover blank.

9.. A method of producing one-piece or telescope boxes, comprising applying a set I up and stayed box shell to a glued cover blank to produce a box-forming assembly, turning up wing portions of the coyerblank against wall portions of theyshell, making parallel spaced slits through combined cover and shell side wall portions approximately at the mi'dlength of said walls towform toldable :fl'aps consisting of combined shell and cover material, turning in the flaps and adhesively securing them on inner surf-aces of v the shell body. r s

103A method of proc uci-ng one-piece or telescope boxes, comprising applying a setup and stayed box shell to a glued cover blank to produce a box-forming assembly,

turning up wing portions of the cover blank against wall portions of the shell, producing parallel spaced slits through combined cover and shell side wall portions: approximately at the midlength of said walls to :forzm told able flaps consisting of combined-shell and cover material with glued cover margins-extending beyond the ends of the shell portions, turning in the flaps and adhesiyely securing the projecting cover margins on ner surfaces of-th shell body, completing the application of the cover 'blank, and folding the completed assembly into telescope boxform.- v

Signed at New York =city',- in the county of New York and State of New York, this 17th day of March :A, B. 1928; HARRY BRIDGMAN SMITH; 

